If you like the outgoing Honda Civic, you will love the ninth incarnation of a local favourite – and with Honda reacting to the few gripes about its immediate predecessor, there’s a good chance you will like the new even if you weren’t a fan of the old, says Pete Burnard.

THE ninth generation Honda Civic has a hard act to follow.

True, the bold styling of Civic Mk VIII might have alarmed some of the marque’s more mature customers.

But the model still chalked up 170,000 UK sales and became a familiar sight on our roads, too.

So should the newcomer, which is much more of a new car than the broadly similar silhouette suggests.

Take the suspension, for instance.

Honda have done more miles on European roads developing the new Civic than they have on any previous new car.

It came, Honda say, from listening to what customers said about the predecessor car.

Along with ride quality, compromised rear visibility topped the grumble list on Civic Mk VIII – not that I found any problem, but it’s what real punters say that matters.

Anyway, lots of you didn’t like it, so now the rear window spoiler is mounted lower, heating elements come further down the rear glass and there is also a rear wash wipe.

There were other gripes, too, from people who were not happy just to be driving one of the sportiest looking five-door hatches on the market and one made by an uber-reliable purveyor of customer satisfaction, at that.

Honda listened to those grumbles, too.

The result is a cockpit that feels more-driver focused and extensive use of soft-touch materials in the cabin.

From the moment you get in – made easier in the back by new doors and a rear pillar that has been moved back 100mm – it’s obvious Honda has put some effort into positioning Civic as a premium product.

While there was never anything wrong with the way the Swindon team screwed together the old Civic, those ubiquitous soft-touch surfaces do lend the new car a much more upmarket feel.

Settle into the sumptuous leather of the range-topping EX-GT – available with 1.8 petrol powerplants with manual or auto boxes or a 2.2 diesel manual only – and you notice particularly supportive seats.

You also notice a line of plastic swooping from the door handle across the top of the dash and down to the centre console.

The way it envelopes the pilot adds to the feeling of a more driver-focused car.

The familiar engine start button is still with us and although the three analogue dial instrumentation is more conventional than in the predecessor car, the high-mounted digital speedo is retained, too.

Upper models come with a multi-language satnav display while on all Civics there is a new multicolour display to the left of the speedo that gives time, audio and air con information.

There is also – for the first time in a non-hybrid Honda – a green Econ button. It activates a gentler throttle map for a more relaxing drive and greater fuel efficiency. It also improves the efficiency of the air conditioning system.

Taking into account factors such as temperature and humidity, it controls the compressor and decreases the voltage of the fan drive to reduce the load on the engine, thereby improving fuel efficiency.

And, having digressed a couple of paragraphs ago into hybrids, there isn’t one. Honda reckon they have the bases covered with Insight and Jazz Hybrid.

Before setting off, a final inspection confirms that there is generous space for the bottles of water without which no one goes anywhere these days – two one-litre bottles and two 330ml ones will fit in the centre cubby, which also has USB/iPod and Aux inputs.

That scout around reveals the retention of Honda’s Magic Seats in the back. When they are not needed for passengers – I’d be more than happy to travel in them – they can be folded down flat to create a loadbay almost a metre tall, from 800 to 1,600mm long and a full metre wide.

And the squabs (the bit you sit on) can be folded upright with the seatbacks in their normal position to permit the carrying of awkward things like tall plants and bicycles – up to three, Honda say.

It’s a feature some Jazz owners I know rate most highly.

On the road, the new Civic impresses from the first speed hump.

Manhole covers, tree stump ripples and the like are dispatched with a disdain of an altogether grander car.

The good news is that this sophistication does not detract from driver appeal.

The steering remains positive and accurate and if that softer ride does result in extra body roll when cornering, it’s not to the extent that any normal driver would notice.

More relevant locally are the facts that it has not grown significantly, that the generous mirrors powerfold and models from ES and up come with a reversing camera as standard.

All this in a practical five-door that looks like a sporty three-door and has a delightful six-speed gearbox.

The Robins might be riding high on their way back to League One, but thanks to Honda Swindon has a winner wherever Paulo di Canio’s boys finish.

The smooth, quiet, free-revving powerplants are lower emitting – an unobtrusive stop/start system helps – and more powerful than its predecessor’s and models are four or five insurance groups lower, too, like for like.

As another famous football manager might have observed, that leaves very little to not like.